


A soft place to land

by thenshe_appeared



Series: What baking can do [1]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Baking, Eventual Romance, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27351976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenshe_appeared/pseuds/thenshe_appeared
Summary: In-between detective work and working for the Agency, Luca Stein loves to bake. Adam finds him in the Warehouse baking one day and it becomes a thing they do together, whilst adamantly ignoring the growing affection between them.
Relationships: Detective/Adam du Mortain, Male Detective/Adam du Mortain
Series: What baking can do [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032183
Comments: 36
Kudos: 37





	1. Part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam finds Luca in the kitchen and learns some basic baking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw something on tumblr about the ROs baking, and here we are.

“Sugar, butter, flour.” Detective Luca Stein hums under his breath as he collects ingredients from the Warehouse kitchen. He opens the cupboard and stretches up on his tiptoes to reach the bag of sugar on the top shelf. His fingers graze the bag, but he can’t grasp it. He jumps, but to no avail. 

Landing back on his feet, he scowls at the shelf. He runs a hand through his short, dark waves and sighs. He rests his palms on the counter and hoists himself up and kneels on the counter. He smiles to himself, thinking _‘ha! Who needs to be tall?’_ and reaches up to grab the sugar, which has disappeared. 

Luca blinks a couple of times, sure that’s where the sugar was, before looking around and almost jumping out of his skin to see the pale, blond vampire behind him. 

“Adam!” 

He has his eyebrows raised and is holding the bag of sugar in one hand. There’s a small quirk of a smile pulling at his lips. 

“Looking for this?” Adam holds out the sugar. Without breaking eye contact, Luca takes it and almost cradles it to his chest. 

“Um. Thank you.” 

Adam offers his hand to Luca and gestures for him to get down from the counter. He stares at the hand for a second, before placing his own on it. Warmth rushes through his body at the touch, and he wants to lean into it, feel the rest of Adam against him. Heat rushes up to his cheeks and Luca looks away from their hands, his brown one in the larger, pale hand, a small ache as he feels it slip away. The touch is gone far too soon. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Adam clench his hand by his side. 

There’s a moment before Adam breaks the silence. “I didn’t think you took sugar in your tea.”

Luca looks up into the pale green eyes, confused by the statement. “I don’t.” Adam waits for him to continue. “I’m baking.” 

“I didn’t know you bake.” 

“Well now you do.” He smiles and returns to the cupboards, pulling out a bowl and measuring jugs. “The kitchen here is so nice, and there’s so much space. I’m not sure what four vampires need with kitchen appliances as professional as these, but how could I resist?” 

When there’s no response, Luca expects Adam to leave, but then, he can’t ever predict what the vampire will choose to do. 

The words _“Tu omnia”_ had run through his head on a constant repeat like a song you never tire of, but it’s just two words that fill his entire being with light and warmth. He’d had to look up the meaning, unfamiliar with Latin based languages, and could barely contain the smile from Nate as he’d tried to cover his face with a book.

And yet, the past couple of months had been just evidence that, whatever his heart may be saying, Adam was under no circumstance ready to pursue those feelings. Luca had been content to throw himself into work, joke around with Farah and continue his supernatural research with Nate. But Adam consumed his thoughts. Any moment he wasn’t busy, or doing something, he spent thinking of those pale green eyes. 

Realising he had been standing, lost in his thoughts for a few minutes, Luca shakes his head and begins unpacking the shopping bag he had brought with him. To his surprise, Adam is still there. 

“What’s this?” 

Luca looks over to where Adam is standing, pointing at the poster taped onto the open kitchen door and smiles. “I thought the big letters at the top gave it away. It’s my banned list.” 

“Your banned list?” He continues to look at Luca, eyebrows furrowed. 

“They broke my rules, they got banned from the kitchen when I’m baking.” 

“I see.” Luca busies himself, collecting measuring bowls from the cupboard.

“Why is this picture of Morgan’s backside?”

He doesn’t turn around, trying to hide the amused smile threatening his lips. “She’s wearing jeans!” 

“That… doesn’t answer the question.” 

A laugh escapes Luca’s lips. “She told me I could only take a picture if it was of her best asset. Who am I to argue?” 

Luca thinks he hears Adam grunt in response. It’s another moment before he speaks again, still gesturing at the poster. “And this picture of Nate?” 

He walks over to the poster now, to look at the picture with Adam. He stands close, not quite touching, but he can feel the warmth emanating from him. 

He grins as he takes in his handiwork. No one has ever called him an artist, but he’s a little proud of the poster. It’s in the format of an old “WANTED” poster with the word “BANNED” splashed across the top. There are four squares, 3 of them filled with photos and their names printed underneath: “Agent Farah Hauville”, she is grinning widely at the camera, eyes sparkling, face too close to get all her hair in. “Agent Morgan”, the side profile of her butt (“its most recognisable angle!” according to Farah). “Agent Nathaniel Sewell” eyebrows furrowed and mouth open as if speaking, looking right into the camera. The last square is empty. 

“I told Nate why I was taking the picture and he tried to argue.” 

Adam looks down at him, a brow raised. “What did they do?”

Luca’s smile grows, “I told you - they didn’t follow the rules.” He turns away, rolling up his sleeves and turning on the tap. “Although, to be fair to Nate, it was a group banning and he got caught up in the antics. But it’s one strike and you’re out in my kitchen, so here we are.” 

He looks back to Adam and it’s as if his heart skips a beat when he sees the rare small smile on his face. 

“The last space on the poster, is that for me?” 

“Well that depends, are you going to break any rules?” 

He scoffs slightly. “I think I would say I’m an adept rule follower.” 

“Even if the rules include not breaking my possessions?” Luca glances sideways as Adam’s mouth drops open slightly and smirks as his pale skin gains a pink tinge on his cheeks. Before he can say anything, Luca waves him away. “You’ve got a clean slate in here. That is, if you want to stay? I could use the help.” 

He feels Adam tense beside him and forces himself to not look at him. He’s sure that if he tries to convince him to stay, he’ll convince himself to leave. It’s as if he can hear the thoughts whirring through the vampire’s mind, the ongoing internal argument loud in the air between them. Luca chews at his lip, wondering if he should say something, until finally - 

“I’ve never baked before.” He looks up at Adam, slightly shocked to see him looking back down at him, his eyes wide. Luca forgets to breathe for a moment when he looks into those eyes. 

“I think you’ll like it. It’s methodical, peaceful even.” He tears his gaze away, heads over to the counter and pulls out the recipe book from his bag, flipping it open to the page titled, ‘Pie crust’. “There are clear rules to baking, recipes and instructions to follow. Here.” He gestures for Adam to come closer and he looks on at the book over his shoulder. “Can you weigh these ingredients out for me?” 

Adam nods and Luca smiles encouragingly, moving away to finish unpacking his bag. He takes out the apples and blackberries, then a teapot. He fills the kettle, turns it on and looks back to Adam. 

He can’t help but smile looking at the image before him, the blond man’s head bent forwards over the counter, eyebrows furrowed as he watches the scales intently. He watches the slow, measured movements of those strong arms pouring the flour ever so slowly. 

The kettle clicks behind him and Luca is pulled out of his trance - the veins on Adam’s arms had been all too captivating - and he pours the water into the teapot. 

The pair work in relative silence, only speaking when they need to move around one another to get something from a cupboard. Luca gives a wide berth, not wanting to scare the other away, trying to resist the magnetic pull between them. Despite that, it’s comfortable. It feels as though this is how it should be: the two of them, there together. He almost lets himself pretend, just for a few minutes, that they are. That this is them, their lives, domestic and not a supernatural or human threat in sight. He sneaks looks at Adam every once in a while, sometimes catching him already looking his way, just to quickly turn back to the task at hand.

Luca takes over the dough to show Adam how to mix the ingredients together. “You want it to be this consistency, see how it holds together when you pinch it together?” Adam nods, but he doesn’t seem to be looking at the dough, gaze intent on Luca’s face. 

Once the pie is in the oven, they turn to look at each other. The silence seems to fill the gap between them, palatable now there’s nothing to do but wait. Luca bites down on his lip and takes a tentative step forwards, not daring to look away. He watches as Adam does the same.

He’s about to say something, mouth open, words on their way out after formulating in his mind for the last 15 minutes, when a phone rings. He closes his eyes and lets out a sigh, reaching into his pocket and answering without looking who is calling. “Detective Stein.” 

Nodding along to Tina’s chatter and grunting small noises when needed, Luca ends the phone call with, “Okay, see you soon,” and puts his phone back in his pocket. He looks up to see Adam further away than he was before, taking up the whole of the doorway. 

“You have to go.” It’s not a question. Luca nods. 

“Could you get the pie out when it’s done? It should only need another 15 minutes. I'll pick it up tomorrow morning.” 

“Of course.” 

He walks towards Adam who is still standing in the doorway. The taller man moves to the side to let Luca pass, but seems surprised when he stops in front of him. His eyes flicker between Luca’s and it’s as if there’s something stuck in his chest. 

After a minute of neither of them speaking, in which Luca is sure the only sound they could both hear was his heart hammering against his chest, Adam says softly, “You should get going.”

He rolls his lips together, not missing the way Adam’s eyes flick down at the action, then leaves through the door. Halfway down the hallway, Luca turns back and sees Adam still watching him from the door. Smiling, he hitches his bag up his shoulder and turns the corner. 

Later, when he’s back at his apartment, much later than he had hoped, he finds a box waiting for him. He smiles, surprised - although he realises he probably shouldn’t be - that Adam had brought the pie to his home. 

Luca lays the box on the counter and opens it, laughing when he sees there is a quarter missing. A note sits on the leftovers.

_“Detective -_

_Agents who have asked to remain unnamed got to the pie while I waited for it to cool. I am to understand it tastes nice. I rescued the remainder._

_\- Commanding Agent Adam du Mortain”_

He shakes his head at the sign off, smiling fondly and holding the note to his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! 
> 
> This is going to be a slowwwww journey for them, I couldn't use all of the baking/in the kitchen tropes in only one scene! 
> 
> The next chapter is already half written so hope to have that up in the next couple of days :)
> 
> The name of this fic and the first 3 words are from the musical "Waitress", which I adore.
> 
> Any comments and kudos greatly appreciated! x


	2. Part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a stressful day and an unwarranted argument with the mayor, Luca is in need of some late night anger fuelled baking.

Luca knows he’s making a lot of noise. It’s after midnight but he truly doesn’t care at that moment if he wakes anyone up, in fact it would make him feel slightly better to know he’d disturbed one of the vampires in the house. 

He pulls out pots, yanking handles, trying to find what he’s looking for and leaving the mess in his wake. He groans loudly as he picks up yet another pan he doesn’t want.

Finally finding the saucepan he’s looking for, he grabs it and sets it on the counter. He reaches for his bag, grabs the recipe book and is flicking through the pages when he senses someone behind him. 

He tenses, shoulders raised and jaw clenched. Without looking around he says quietly, “I don’t want to talk.” 

The person steps closer and Luca closes his eyes as he recognises the scent of Adam’s cologne, breathing in deeply. He takes a moment to bask in it, before turning around and facing him. Adam is standing closer than Luca expects, and he swallows hard at the look of concern on his face.

“What do you need?” The look between them is intense. Luca feels a shiver run over his body as he holds Adam’s hard gaze. His dark brown eyes flick between Adam’s light green ones and he feels some of the anger dissipate, struggling to feel anger when looking at someone so beautiful. He has to force his mind back to the question, confused for a moment. 

“Oh, um. Butter.”

Adam reaches for it on the counter and hands it to him without looking away. “What else?” 

“Milk.” 

“Anything else?” Luca shakes his head, tearing his eyes away to stand in front of the stove. He tries to focus on the task at hand instead of the vampire watching him from a few feet away. The butter melts slowly, and then he adds the milk, stirring the mixture with a whisk. In a separate bowl, he mixes the yeast and some sugar, adding a little of the milk. It starts to bubble and he sets it aside, grabbing the flour. 

He spends the next 15 minutes combining his ingredients, using his hands to pull them together. Finally, he looks up from his bread mixture to see Adam, still standing a few feet away, stoic as ever and watching him, blond brows furrowed. 

“Do you want to talk about what’s making you unhappy? I can fetch Nate if you would be more comfortable speaking with him.” 

Luca shakes his head, looking away and picking up the flour to sprinkle over the counter, a little more aggressively than strictly necessary, but he’s not fully paying attention. He barely even notices when Adam comes to stand next to him, arms almost touching.

Luca picks up the bread from the bowl, holding it above the counter as he speaks. “It’s just the mayor,” He huffs, venom in his usually soft voice. “You’d think he’d let a detective just do his job, but no he has to interfere and inject his opinion absolutely  _ everywhere _ . I should be used to this by now but it just really pisses me off. I've done  _ nothing _ to deserve this mistrust.”

With more force than he intended, he throws the dough onto the flour covered counter, covering them both in a fine dusting. 

Luca stares at the vampire for a moment, before the laughter hits. Adam’s already pale face looks ghostly white and his mouth is hanging open in a shocked look he’s never seen before. Luca doubles over, clutching on to the counter to hold himself up. He almost gets a hold on himself when he makes the mistake of looking at Adam who is wiping flour from the side of his face. 

Eventually, he stops, and is still smiling when he turns to look at Adam, who seems to be fighting a smile of his own. Adam holds out a tea towel for him to wipe his face.

“Are you still angry?”

“It’s a little difficult to be angry when I’m covered in flour.” He wipes his face quickly then turns away.

He looks down at the counter where he had sprinkled far too much flour, smirking to himself. He picks up a handful and spins around to throw it into Adam’s face. Instead, it meets air. 

He feels Adam suddenly close behind him, body almost pressed up to his back and hands locked around Luca’s wrists. “And this is why you should join a combat lesson once in a while,    
Detective Stein.” His breath is hot on the back of his neck.

Luca huffs, but can’t help the quickening of his heart at Adam’s proximity. He thinks Adam must hear it, can surely feel the heat rising through his body, because he releases him and steps quickly away, looking at anything but Luca. “I -” 

Before he can continue, Luca cuts across him. “I’m kneading the dough now. I can show you how?” He feels bold, although it’s not a proposition. But this space, where they had started to spend time the past few weeks, just enjoying the company of one another; it felt safe. He wants it to be safe for Adam too. A place unbreached by the outside world and all that’s left unsaid that might usually come between them. “Baking helps. It’s good for working out your frustration.” 

Adam braves a look at him now, his stern face less guarded than it usually seems, and nods. 

They stand on opposite sides of the island. Luca cuts his dough in half and tosses one piece to Adam. 

“What kind of bread are we making?” 

“It’s a Zopf. A German bread.” He kneads the dough, pressing his knuckle into it a little harder than necessary. “My dad used to make it.” 

“Rook was German?” 

“He was Turkish, he grew up in Germany though.” Luca nods over to the counter, “This recipe book, it was his. Took me ages to decipher the notes he wrote in it. I grew up speaking Turkish, but I had to teach myself German for some of them.” 

He looks up to see Adam smiling at him. “You’re very impressive, you know?” 

Luca feels himself flush and tries to slow the fluttering in his chest by looking back down at the dough in his hands. He inhales deeply, fighting a smile and focusing on the bread. “So, kneading. You want to push the dough away from you with the palm of your hand - not  _ too _ hard, don’t break the dough - then fold it over itself and pull it back. You repeat it in different directions.” 

His eyes flicker up to watch Adam’s large hands press into the dough, slow controlled movements. His fingers wrap around the dough, pulling it over itself and then back down again. Luca feels mesmerised by the precise way his long fingers touch the dough, almost reverent in their gentle pushes and pulls. 

Shaking his head out of the trance, he continues to knead his dough. He puts any of his leftover anger into the movements, putting the tension into the working of the bread. He feels it working, his shoulders loosening up, his focus solely on what’s right in front of him.

The two of them work in silence for ten minutes until Luca feels his dough is ready. “It should be done now. The kneading activates the gluten in the dough, so if you hold it like this-” He holds up one end of his dough, watching as the rest of it stretches by itself. “It should do that!” Adam copies him, letting out a pleased hum when his dough does the same. 

“Perfect. Now, we need to let it prove for half an hour until it doubles in size.” He sets their dough in bowls, covering them with damp cloths.

Luca thinks for a while of telling Adam that he can leave, that there’s no need for him to wait around for the dough to rise, but a yawn escapes his mouth before he can. “You should really get more sleep, Detective.”

Luca waves a hand at Adam’s crossed arms and stern look. “I’m fine! This is why I have a room here.” 

“You have a room here so you can indulge in late night baking?” Luca smirks at Adam’s raised eyebrow.

“Precisely.” Luca wishes he had the nerve to mention other late night activities he could indulge in, but feels his body betray him at even the thought when heat crawls up his neck and his heart hammers against his chest. 

Instead, he pulls himself up onto the counter, legs dangling. He sees Adam’s jaw tighten. “You’re almost as bad as Morgan. Counters aren’t for sitting.” 

Luca shrugs at him and smiles, swinging his legs. “What are you going to do about it?” 

Adam walks towards him, eyes narrowed. Luca’s breath catches in his throat when he gets close enough to touch, watching as Adam’s mouth twitches into a smirk. Adam moves too quickly to see, but suddenly Luca feels his large hands on his waist and himself being hoisted off the counter. He reaches his hands out, grasping on to Adam’s broad shoulders to steady himself, and  _ oh, that’s a mistake _ , because now he knows what his shoulders feel like. 

Adam sets him on the ground in front of him and Luca’s hands slide down his arms. He can barely take in the feel of those muscles over the other racing thoughts in his mind. Adam’s hands skim his waist until finally falling away. Luca takes a quick step backwards and looks up at the taller man, icy green eyes searching his. Luca can’t help but smile when he sees there’s still flour on his face.

“You know, you still have some flour right here.” Luca says softly, gesturing at his nose, and Adam tries to copy him, but misses the spot entirely. Shaking his head, Luca moves closer and raises his hand. 

“May I?” He looks into Adam’s eyes. The taller man nods, very slightly. He leans in and swipes at his strong nose with his thumb, careful not to touch him too hard. 

Once he’s wiped the flour off, he starts to pull his hand away, scared suddenly that Adam will leave if he lingers too long. Instead, Adam reaches out and holds onto his hand, pulling it to his chest. Luca looks up into Adam’s eyes, feeling himself falling into their depths. The icy green gaze, once a source of uncertainty, provides a warm wave of relief. The steady heart beat against his hand has him wanting to close his eyes and just listen.

An alarm goes off and Luca feels Adam step suddenly away from him and the space where his warm body just was leaves him shivering. “The dough is ready.” Adam’s voice sounds rough. 

Luca chews on his lip, nodding and swiping away the alarm on his phone. He shows Adam how to plait the dough, rolling them out and then twisting the two lengths of dough around each other. 

They set it aside for another proof when they are interrupted by Farah knocking at the door. “Luca!” She’s smiling and her hair is bouncing around her face as she walks. "I thought that was you crashing about earlier."

She makes to step inside the kitchen, until Luca raises his eyebrows at her and points at the sign taped to the door.

“Adam’s allowed in!” Farah’s pout does nothing to soften him.

“Adam doesn’t try to set off explosions when I’m baking.”

“You exploded something?” Adam’s stern voice comes from behind Luca, his arms crossed. 

Farah leans against the doorway, crossing one foot over the other. “I mean, would we call that an explosion?” She grins at them both. “Really it was Luca’s fault anyway. He’s the one who told me about Mentos and coke.”

“I distinctly remember telling you we could try it outside,  _ after _ I was done baking. I told you no experiments in the kitchen. You’re the one who thought it would be fun to test it  _ inside _ a pie without telling me.” Luca tries to stop the smile forming on his lips at the memory. 

“Ha!” The twitch of his mouth doesn’t go unmissed by the young agent, “I knew you thought it was funny. When’s this ban going to end? I miss you.” She flutters her eyelashes at him, big golden eyes melting his resolve.

Before Luca can say anything, Adam interrupts. “Was your only purpose in coming here to goad the detective, or did you need something, Farah?” 

She rolls her eyes at him. “Agent Stein wants a word. You weren’t answering your phone.” Luca watches as Adam’s cheeks grow pink. 

“Of course. Apologies, Detective.” He nods his head at Luca, lingering for a moment before walking out the door. 

Before he’s gone too far, Luca calls out. “It’s Tina’s birthday next week if you want to make cupcakes with me? I’ll be here on Tuesday evening.”

He turns, a serious look on his face, “I’ll see you on Tuesday.” A smile pulls at one side of his mouth. Luca’s eyes flick to Farah for a moment who is grinning and looking back and forth between them. 

Adam turns away and Farah winks back at Luca before following him out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry if this one was a bit slow, there are more fun bits upcoming that I had to move into the next chapter! (This fic may end up as more than 4? We'll see.) 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! Any comments and kudos are greatly appreciated <3 
> 
> I'm @thenshe--appeared on tumblr if you're interested in more incoherent yelling about four beautiful vampires.
> 
> Sidenote: a zopf needs way more proving time than I've written, but I figured 1.5 hours was a very long time to have them both in the kitchen so I've just made it up. Actual bakers please don't come for me, I know it's not long enough


	3. Part three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Tina's birthday and it's time to make her some cupcakes!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter honestly just kept on going, sorry if it's too long! I think it's the longest chapter I've ever written.
> 
> Adam: I have NO feelings  
> me: you are soft

“So it’s my birthday tomorrow.” 

Luca doesn’t look up from his paperwork, “Is it?”

Tina throws herself into the chair facing his desk, sighing loudly. “It’s almost as if you don’t care about me.”

“Almost.” He smiles, glancing up at her dramatically posing with her arm flung across her forehead. She breaks out into a grin. 

“What are you baking me this year?” 

“What makes you think I’m baking you anything?” 

Tina rolls her eyes, “Oh please. We all know that under all that sarcasm you’re as soft as a marshmallow. Besides,” Her eyes narrow and her smile turns to a smirk. “You wouldn’t give up the chance to spend some time in the kitchen with a certain agent.” 

Biting his tongue, Luca collects the papers he was working on and stacks them neatly on one side of his desk. He can feel a familiar warmth crawling up his neck and onto his cheeks. He pulls the sleeves of his jumper down, twisting the soft fabric in his fingers. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

He stands, ignoring Tina’s laughter as he grabs his bag. “Come on, Luc. You can’t tell me there’s nothing going on there.” 

He pauses in the doorway, trying to stop from indulging in the idea of _something_ going on there. Without turning around he says, “I guess you really _don’t_ want birthday cake,” smiling to himself when she chases after him in protestation. 

It’s not until he’s sat in his car that he lets himself think about what Tina said. It’s not as if there’s _nothing_ going on, but he could hardly call it something. 

Nothing concrete, at least. He’s holding on to the feeling of a big, soft hand in his under fireworks and stares caught from across a room where icy green melts into so much more. He’s dreaming of the way his breath feels on his face when he lets himself get too close. Moments, just glimmers of what they could be, that have the power to fill and shatter him. 

He lets his head fall against the headrest, closing his eyes for a moment and letting himself believe, just for now. 

Pulling into the Warehouse parking lot half an hour later, Luca struggles not to be excited. He hasn’t seen Adam since the week before and lingering stares and touches have been playing on his mind ever since, he almost feels the ghost of those hands on his waist. He hopes, briefly, for more before shaking off the thought and getting out of the car. 

The Warehouse is quiet. He makes his way to the kitchen without meeting anyone; unusual for this time of the evening. He pushes the door to the kitchen, pausing to smile at the ‘BANNED’ poster stuck on the door - Adam must be here already. 

The smile falters as he steps into the kitchen. 

No Adam. 

Instead, there are various ingredients measured out and in bowls, each labelled with the ingredient and the amount, a teapot - he’s never seen that before - with steam spiralling from its spout, and his favourite mug. There’s a folded piece of paper nestled underneath the mug. He pulls it out and opens it. 

_‘Detective -_

_Please accept my apologies, I was called away to the Facility for a meeting with Agent Stein. I found your recipe book with this cupcake recipe bookmarked and measured out the ingredients._

_\- Commanding Agent Adam du Mortain’_

Luca runs his finger over the delicate lettering, sure he’s not imagining the familiar smell of Adam on the paper. He breathes it in, unable to stop the stab of disappointment he feels in his chest at his absence.

“Aw cute, he even used your pet names.” 

He jumps at Farah’s voice from next to him, having been too in his own head to notice her before. “Farah! You scared me.” 

She winks at him, then turns away to look at the bowls of measured out ingredients on the countertop. She whistles low. “Nice of Adam to do all this for you. He’s a very _attentive_ leader.” 

Luca struggles to stop himself from smiling, but turns it into a scowl when he faces Farah. “What do I need to do to get you to respect your ‘banned’ status? Was the poster not enough?” 

“You think hanging up a picture of me will deter me?” She lets out a short laugh. “Mostly I come down here just to admire myself. You should take more photos of me, you have a good eye.” 

Luca rolls his eyes. “Here.” He pulls over a chair from the dining area and sets it in the doorway. “Sit on this and don’t move. You can at least keep me company.” 

She beams at him, her smile infectious as ever. Sitting on the chair and then tilting it backwards so she’s balancing on its back legs, her smile turns sympathetic. “I know I’m not much of a replacement for who you wanted to see, but for what it’s worth, he did really want to be here. I’m surprised all the doors are still intact with the way he was storming around earlier.” 

His heart beats a little faster at the words and he grimaces at its betrayal. “I can hardly complain about spending time with you, despite how dangerous in a kitchen you are.” 

“Oh come on, it was only a small chemical reaction! Also,” She’s glaring at him, but the smile still on her face hinders its impact, “you promised you wouldn’t rat me out to Adam, and yet I had to listen to him tell me off last week.” She stands up on the chair, mimicking Adam’s deep voice, “‘Stop putting the detective’s life in danger’, ‘leave Luca alone when he’s in the kitchen’, ‘don’t you dare hurt his beautiful face, Farah’. We both know me shoving a few mentos in a pastry wasn’t going to hurt anyone.” 

Luca throws the young agent a withering look, “Well, I’m so glad to see you’re taking his advice on leaving me alone.”

She sits back down. “Ah, come on. You don’t really want to be alone.” 

“No.” He looks down at the bowls in front of him. “I don’t suppose I do.” 

“So what are you making?”

Luca bends down to collect the big mixing bowl from a cupboard and sets it on the counter. “It’s Tina’s birthday tomorrow, I’m making cupcakes.” 

“Sweet!” 

“If you behave, I might let you eat some batter.” 

“Batter?” Farah wrinkles her nose. “The raw stuff? Why would I want to eat that?” 

“Oh, trust me; tasting batter from the bowl is one of the best parts of baking. When I was a kid, it was _the_ reason I wanted to help out.” 

She still looks suspicious and he can’t help but laugh at the expression on her face. “Would I ever feed you anything bad?” 

“I dunno.” She shrugs at him. “Maybe you’re getting payback.”

He smirks at her, raising his eyebrows. “Maybe.” 

A half hour passes by without them realising, the easy joking between them a light relief. They’ve put the cupcakes in the oven, Luca is stirring icing, and at some point during their conversation, Farah has abandoned her post and situated herself on top of a counter, legs swinging. His eyes glaze over for a moment as he remembers Adam’s reaction when he had done the same last week. 

“Detective!” Nate stands in the doorway, looking hesitantly between Luca and the ‘banned’ list on the kitchen door. 

“You can come in.” Luca gestures at Farah, “No rules today, apparently.” She beams at him, finger in the bowl of leftover batter; most of it already scraped clean. 

Nate perches on the chair by the door, left by Farah. “What are you making? It smells delicious.” 

“Birthday cupcakes for Tina.” Nate’s smile falters slightly and Luca rolls his eyes. “There’s enough for you to have one, too.” 

Nate’s brown cheeks colour slightly and Farah laughs at him. Luca returns to the icing, adding a few drops of blue food colouring, pausing his stirring when he hears a familiar clicking sound from the doorway. He clenches his jaw. 

“Don’t you dare.” He doesn’t look up, but hears Morgan’s scoff. “If you wanted to smoke, you could go outside. Instead, you’ve slunk down here like a house cat, pretending she doesn’t want company, when you not so secretly want to spend time with us.” Luca makes eye contact with her then, her narrowed eyes watching him, a cigarette hanging from her lips. “So, no smoking. Not in the kitchen.” 

He can see Farah grinning out of the corner of his eye, looking back and forth between them, but he refuses to break eye contact first. After a few moments, Morgan scowls and shoves the cigarette in her pocket. 

“Ooh, he read you good, Morgan!” 

“I only came down here to see what that smell was. Could’ve been a fire. It’s nothing to do with you being here.” Contrary to her words, she leans a hip against a counter, settling in. 

Nate shakes his head, smiling gently at her. 

Luca finishes mixing one icing, then moves on to a second, adding red food colouring - just enough to make it a bright pink. He pulls out the cupcakes from the oven, leaving them to cool. The four of them talk happily whilst he works, but he doesn’t let them near any of the actual baking, especially not the icing. 

“Luca, please, I’m at least three times your age. I think I can put some icing on a cupcake.” She holds out a hand expectantly.

“Mentally, you’re not even a third of my age. You can do the sprinkles on Nate’s cupcake.” 

“Must she?” 

Luca sticks his tongue out at Nate, focusing on piping the icing carefully onto the cakes. Once he’s done, he hands a spoon with leftover icing on to Farah; Nate declines his and he doesn’t ask Morgan knowing she would just snarl at it. 

He takes a spoon for himself and scrapes the last bits of icing from the bowl. Luca runs his tongue up the bowl of the spoon, savouring the sugary icing and unable to stop himself letting out a small, content “Mmm”.

“Well.” He looks over to see Farah’s eyebrows are raised at him, a small smirk on her face. “Now I know why you invited Adam to make cupcakes with you. That’s quite the image, detective.” 

He feels his cheeks heat up, “I -” 

“Oh, no excuses, detective.” She’s grinning now, waving a finger at him. “Even our Commanding Agent couldn’t resist you licking a spoon as a seduction technique.” 

Morgan snorts from the doorway. “A bold approach, detective.” 

“I wasn’t -” Luca turns desperately to Nate who is struggling to hide his amusement, but tries to help him anyway.

“Stop teasing Luca, you two.” He’s smiling far too wide to be taken seriously and leans closer to Luca to whisper in his ear whilst Farah and Morgan make jokes about spooning. “For what it’s worth, I imagine it would’ve worked.” 

He picks up the empty bowls, tossing them in the sink with more vigor than _strictly_ necessary, hopelessly trying to cover the sound of his racing heart.

“Farah! It’s time to add sprinkles.” 

The young agent leaps off the counter. “Finally!” 

* * *

Adam walks quickly down the hallway towards the kitchen. He feels a small flutter of his heart as he hears laughter - _Luca’s laughter_ \- and a cacophony of his favourite voices.

He pauses as he reaches the open door, standing just out of view. Unable to help himself, he smiles at the scene before him. Morgan is snarling at Farah, attempting to brush sprinkles out of her hair whilst the latter attempts to hide behind Nate. Nate is trying to cover up his laughter, reprimand Farah and protect an eccentrically decorated cupcake from harm all at once. 

On the far side of the kitchen is Luca, doubled over in laughter and holding on to the counter. Adam’s gaze zeroes in on him, watching as he tries to calm himself and then break out in peals of laughter again. The sound never fails to make Adam feel warmed, as though from the inside out. It’s an even more enjoyable sound in moments, like now, when it isn’t at him. 

Adam steps towards the door, attempting to stop the corners of his mouth from tilting upwards as he comes into view. Luca is the first to see him, managing to contain his laughter for a moment, and his face lights up when they lock eyes. The three vampires, distracted, don’t notice him until he clears his throat. 

He doesn’t always feel like a parent to the rest of his team, that’s usually Nate’s domain, yet the way they look up at him with startled looks on their faces tells a different story. 

“Adam!” Farah is the first to break the silence, “You’re back!” 

“Evidently.” He raises an eyebrow at them all. “Have you all been harassing Lu- the detective?” 

The youngest agent smirks at him, not missing the slip up. “Would we ever _harass_ the detective?”

“Yes.” 

Luca chuckles and the sound is enough to block out whatever joking comment Farah is making. He watches as the detective pulls on his jacket and furrows his brow, which Luca spots before Adam has a chance to collect himself. “I should get going.” 

“You’re not staying here?” 

He ignores the snort from behind him, though he feels his ears growing hot. Luca looks up at him from under thick lashes, “Not tonight.” 

The words, though they hardly carry any deep meaning to them, seem to hang between the two as they stare into each others’ eyes. Everything else fades into the background until all Adam’s senses are full of only Luca. 

The detective is the first to look away, breaking the trance as he picks up the plate of cupcakes.

“Let me help you carry these to your car.” Adam goes to hold the plate, fingers grazing Luca’s as he does so. The warmth that rushes through him is instant, a tingling sensation that both pulls him in closer and pushes at the forefront of his mind. An unwitting smile pulls at his lips, and Adam turns away to face the rest of Unit Bravo before it can take full form.

Farah looks as though it’s _her_ birthday, her grin is so wide, Nate is smiling, his eyes wide and full of an emotion that Adam will resolutely ignore. Even Morgan is smirking at him, one eyebrow raised.

He brushes past them all with a scowl, not waiting as Luca says his goodbyes. 

Pausing halfway down the hall, he takes a moment to look at the cupcakes in his hands. The pink and blue icing is piped in perfect spirals and all but one of them has a light dusting of multi-coloured sprinkles. The one in the bottom left corner looks as though it has been attacked by all the decorations Luca brought with him, sugary flowers, snowflakes and small silver balls are piled high in circles. 

“Admiring Farah’s handiwork?” 

Adam looks up to see Luca standing next to him. “She has a lot of flair.” 

A silence settles between them as they walk. It’s not uncomfortable, but not as easy as it usually is within the four walls of the kitchen. Moments that might be too much, too heavy, are manageable in the space they’ve made for themselves while baking. _That Luca has made for him._ Adam finds himself there often, even when Luca isn’t around. He tries to ignore the pull it has, there’s no denying it’s because of the detective. If he were inclined to believe in such things, or perhaps if he listened to Nate more, he might say he goes to the kitchen for his soul to find some solace. After all, that’s what Luca brings with his presence. 

Walking this hallway together, holding doors, stealing glances, their footsteps and Luca’s steady heartbeat the only sound; it’s different. It’s more. It’s the crushing reality of their worlds and the irresistible inability to stay away despite everything his mind is telling him. There’s no denying who and where they are, their situation or other people out here, even just in the Warehouse hallways. If the kitchen brings Adam peace, everywhere else is full of noise. 

He’s thankful when they reach the outside and the fresh air drags him out of his own head. Luca opens the door of his car and Adam places the tray of cupcakes on the passenger seat.

“Thank you for carrying those.” Luca is smiling at him, eyes flickering between his own, searching for something. “I-” His voice trails off. He rolls his lips together, as though trying to stop himself from finishing the sentence. 

Adam steps closer. Too close. Too hard to resist. “You?” The shorter man’s eyes narrow for a moment. He shakes his head, starts to turn away. Adam reaches out, a hand on his shoulder, to stop him. Luca looks at the ground and seems to steel himself. 

“I missed you tonight.” 

For once, he doesn’t hesitate. “And I you.” His voice is barely a whisper, but there’s no hiding it at this distance.

Luca’s head snaps back up and his brown eyes search his once more. “You did?” 

“I did.” 

They stare at each other for what feels like an age, eyes focusing more than once on the other’s lips, until, forcing his hands behind his back, Adam finds his resolve. The warmth of Luca’s body disappears as Adam takes a big step back and he immediately regrets the space between them. His hand twitches involuntarily, as if reaching for him, aching to wrap Luca’s hand in his own. Adam turns back to the Warehouse. 

“Tell Officer Poname ‘happy birthday’ from us all.” 

He watches from the doorway as the detective drives away without another word. Luca’s sweet smell stays, lingering long after he has left. Adam can’t help but breathe it in and feel calmed by its presence. 

* * *

_In the bin in Adam’s bedroom: crumpled up pieces of paper and crossed out notes_

~~Luca -~~

~~Detective Stein -~~

~~Dearest Luca -~~

~~Detective Luca Erhan Stein -~~

~~Please forgive me.~~

~~I wish~~

~~I would much rather~~

~~I will endeavour to be home~~

~~I will endeavour to return before you leave, please wait for me.~~

~~\- Your Adam~~

~~\- Agent du Mortain~~

~~\- Agent Adam~~

~~\- Adam~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aah I'm sorry there's not much actual interaction between them in this chapter! 
> 
> I don't usually write from Adam's perspective, so I'm not super sure about it. Let me know what you think? 
> 
> I've updated this to be 5 chapters total, yes there is (somewhere) an actual plan for what's happening and how it will end. Two more chapters should do it :) 
> 
> I'm @thenshe--appeared on tumblr if you want to yell about being in love with fictional characters with me
> 
> Any comments and kudos are greatly appreciated, thank you so much to anyone who has left any <3


	4. Part four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part four or: five times Adam could have kissed Luca and one time Luca kisses him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for how long this is. I had so many thoughts and ideas about their first kiss that this ended up as a culmination of all of those possibilities. It is so incredibly soft.

Of all the ways Luca had imagined the first kiss - and he’d thought about every possible scenario over and over and over again - he had somehow not considered  _ this _ . 

All the almosts, the close calls, the wishing for that last gap to be closed. All the hoping, the waiting, the  _ fantasizing, _ the urges to fling himself at the agent. 

They had been on the edge of this precipice before, nudging towards this very moment. 

None of that had prepared him for the feel of those lips on his. 

**_4 weeks ago_ **

“That’s not in the recipe.” 

Luca glances up at the hand on his wrist stopping him from adding the cinnamon in his hand.

“I know.” 

“But… You’re breaking the rules.” 

“See, this is where you’re wrong.” Luca struggles to stop his lips from twitching into a smile. “ _ Technically _ , I’m not breaking any rules.” 

“You’re not getting out of this on a technicality.” Adam narrows his eyes, but the light in them, the smallest twinkle of enjoyment, lights a fire in Luca. 

“You make croissants one time and suddenly you’re the expert?” Luca lets the grin take over his face now, his tongue poking out between teeth. 

“Not an expert, but I know how to follow directions.” 

He lays his free hand on top of Adam’s, still on his wrist. He looks like he might pull away at the touch, but stays. Luca keeps his touch light, thumb gently stroking the soft skin on Adam’s pale hand. “The thing about baking is there are no rules. Only guidelines.” 

It’s hard not to look up at him, to gauge the reaction in those green eyes, but he’s scared of what he’ll see. Adam is letting him touch him, he hasn’t flinched or backed off, and that emboldens Luca. He keeps talking, rambling almost, to distract himself.

“I know if I add lemon juice it’ll add some acidity, salt will balance the sweetness. It’s simple chemistry, really; figuring out what works and what doesn’t, how it reacts to everything else. If you know what to do with the ingredients, recipes are just helpful measures for your main components - flour, butter, eggs. Everything else is up to you to make how you want it. It’s all just,” He looks up to find Adam’s face much closer to his than he expects, and the rest of his sentence is lost. 

He watches as Adam’s eyes flicker to his lips and back up to his eyes. “It’s all just’ what?” He barely breathes the words, but Luca feels it caress his skin. 

This is one of those moments. One where he feels he should breach the gap, press his lips against Adam’s, and finally start what they have been teetering on the edge of for so long. He wets his lips, it’s almost as if he can taste the tension in the air between them, rich and heady, just waiting for someone to take the plunge. 

_ BUZZ. BUZZ. _

And then it’s broken. It becomes another moment he’ll file into his collection of almosts.

Adam steps away, answers his phone, and Luca lowers his eyes, unmoving from his position against the counter, not caring that his sigh is clearly audible. He tips the cinnamon into the bowl. 

  
  


**_3 weeks ago_ **

Luca throws himself backwards onto the mats, “Do we really have to keep doing this?” 

“Yes.” 

“You know I’m shit at it.” 

“Precisely why we’re here.” Adam offers a hand, waiting for Luca to open his eyes. When he does, he takes it, and Adam tenses his jaw at the butterflies that erupt in his stomach from this simple touch. Adam lets go of his hand as soon as he’s on his feet. Desperately, he tries to ignore the way Luca’s pulse has picked up at even this simple touch. He gets back into his starting position and the detective follows suit. 

It’s not long before Luca is on his back again, this time involuntarily. He punches the mat and lets out a groan. Adam struggles to stop the twitch of a smile. 

“Up.” 

“Just. Can we have a break?” 

He looks down at the detective, usually bright eyes looking tired. He sighs, “Five minutes.” 

Luca sighs too and leans backwards, patting the mat beside him. “You need a break too.” 

“I do not.” He hesitates for a moment then sits anyway and he watches fondly as a smile erupts onto Luca’s lips. 

_ Does he know _ , Adam wonders,  _ can he feel what I feel? _ It’s like an electric charge, filling the air between them.  _ Does he feel what I really want? _ He thinks back to the week before in the kitchen, when they stood so close it felt as though the world had stopped just for them. 

Adam tries to be careful here. He tries not to come too close, not to touch Luca for longer than a few seconds. In here, where everything is about control, he struggles. It’s not like in the kitchen; untouchable, a space where he and Luca can just  _ be _ . No, the training room is part of the real world. It’s hard here where every movement, every touch is so deliberate. But even then, he lingers. How his fingers ache to caress, to hold, to —

He looks over to Luca, thankful he can’t hear his thoughts, but regrets it the moment he does. The detective is leaning back, eyes closed, with his head tilted backwards. Adam could drink in this image of Luca for an eternity, at peace, as so few see him. His long lashes, so distracting, on brown skin that he knows to be soft beyond compare. The t-shirt he’s wearing is too big; exposing the collarbone that has Adam’s mouth drying up, that fills him with an urge to press his lips to every inch of skin. 

Something has changed lately. It’s as if he’s careening towards the inevitable with no desire to stop it. No, there’s a  _ need _ to keep hurtling, together, down this path they’ve been on for nearly a year now. He’s beyond trying to veer from it. There’s no stopping it anymore and no part of him that isn’t yearning for it to happen. 

Their hands are not far apart. Adam stares at the fingers splayed out on the blue mat and urges himself to move his hand closer, to take hold and entwine them together. 

Before cognizant action can force its way through his body and make his hand move, Luca lets out a deep sigh and pushes himself to his feet, leaving Adam alone on the mat. 

“You know what? I forgot I have things to do at the station. I need to go.” 

“Oh.” 

Adam stands and looks down at the shorter man. The dark brown eyes are avoiding his and Adam only then realises how quickly his heart is beating. 

He reaches out, fingers catching Luca’s jaw and lightly tilting his face up towards his own. His fingertips burn with the touch, the sensation spreading through his body. “Are you okay, Luca?” 

The use of his name has Luca’s eyes snapping up to his. His eyebrows are furrowed and his eyes, usually full of warmth, look at him with confusion. “Yes.” He steps backwards and Adam is forced to relinquish his touch. “Goodbye, Agent.” Luca turns and leaves, pausing briefly at the door with the same confused look still in his eyes before shaking his head and walking out. 

“Goodbye, Luca.” It’s barely a whisper, there’s no way he heard it, it’s more for him really. Saying his name out loud; it’s unfamiliar. Unfamiliar, yet perfect. The feel of it from his lips, his tongue, to his ears. There is no sound he would rather make. 

  
  


**_2 weeks ago_ **

When Luca enters the kitchen, arms laden with shopping bags, it’s to find Adam there waiting for him at the table. 

He looks different. His usual grey t-shirt is gone, a white button up shirt in its place, and a smell he feels he should recognise. Luca furrows his brow as the agent stands up, hands clasped behind his back, green eyes watching him with an unfamiliar look. 

“Hello, Luca.” 

The warmth that creeps up his neck, summoned by the sound of his name from those lips, seems to stop any words from leaving his own. He swallows hard. “Hi.” 

Adam gestures towards the table, “I was hoping you’d join me for a drink?” Luca blinks at the kitchen table where a bottle of wine and two glasses sit on the white tablecloth. It’s phrased as a question, as if Adam is unsure what he’s hoping for. 

Luca lifts the bags in his arms. “I was planning on baking.” 

“We can do both? I hear that drinking whilst cooking is traditional in some places.” 

Luca feels his mouth quirk into a smile, unbidden. “Okay.” 

Adam actually breaks into a smile and Luca has to force himself to look away from the sight, as if he could be blinded by its radiance. He hasn’t seen Adam since the training room the week before. He’d spent those silent five minutes trying to convince himself that Adam’s formality, his reluctance to touch him, the way he flinches away, that he should finally take that to mean what it does. That this will never happen. But now he’s here. And being, there’s no other word for it,  _ forward. _ He can’t help but be confused.

“What are we baking?” 

Adam’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts and Luca sets down the bags on the counter and pulls out the ingredients. “Açma. A Turkish pastry.” 

He has picked up Rook’s recipe book and is flipping through the pages to find the recipe. Taking a moment now that he is focussed, Luca surveys the vampire before him. He breathes in, a rich smell filling his nostrils, and tries to remember where he knows the smell from. 

“Here.” Adam holds out the book on the familiar page. Luca smiles at the writing, pencils marking Rook’s alterations and comments. 

He watches as Adam rolls up the sleeves of his shirt, and there’s something about that action, the slow movement of careful fingers, the flex of his forearm, that has Luca’s breath catching in his throat. He turns away. 

Luca starts by warming the milk, then adding the sugar and the dried yeast to the mix. He leaves it to activate, turning around to see Adam holding a glass out to him. 

“Cheers.” 

They clink glasses and Luca is still trying to pinpoint what is so different about him, he misses what Adam is saying. 

“I’m sorry?” 

Adam shakes his head, a small smile on his mouth as he lifts the glass to his mouth. Luca takes a sip, unable to break eye contact. 

Later, when the Açma is in the oven and Adam is pouring the second glass, he figures it out. “Your cologne.” Adam pauses, wine bottle poised above his glass. “Did you wear that when we went to the Trappers’ base in the sewers that time?” 

He thinks he sees a pink tinge to Adam’s ears at his words. He coughs. “Can a man not wear cologne without being interrogated?”

“A man? Sure. You? I’m not sure why you’d need to.” 

Adam raises an eyebrow. “You prefer how I smell without it?” 

“Yes.” The word escapes his lips before he means to, and he bites his lip as if doing so can pull it back in. 

“Then I won’t wear it again.” It’s so earnest, too earnest. They stare at each other for a moment. Luca fiddles with his glass, winding his fingers around the long stem before taking a large gulp. 

He doesn’t have much occasion to drink, the infrequent nights out with Tina have become almost non-existent in the past year, and he had forgotten how embarrassingly giggly he gets. He’s holding on to Adam — he can’t figure out when or how that happened — as they walk back to his room at the Warehouse. 

He’s regaling a story about one of his first nights out with Tina, back when they were both officers, gesturing wildly and making unnecessary asides as he tells it. And then Adam’s laughing. A sound that fills him with warmth, all the way to the brim. He stares up at him in wonder. 

They’ve reached his door and he reluctantly disentangles himself from the agent, fiddling with the sleeves of his jumper. 

“Luca?” He looks up, can’t help the confused smile on his face. 

“Why do you keep doing that?” The words are followed by a small laugh that he can’t contain.

“What?” 

“Saying my name.” 

He watches as Adam’s cheeks turn red and wishes he could bite back the words. He steps - almost stumbles - forwards and lays a hand on Adam’s arm. “Don’t stop. I’m just curious.” Green eyes flicker back and forth between his and he’s not sure if it’s the wine, but suddenly everything seems a lot closer than it should be. 

It’s not until he finds himself looking at Adam’s lips, pink and soft and so close, that something in his chest contracts and he realises they’re close enough to kiss. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he protests,  _ this _ isn’t how he wants it to happen; drunk and confused. He pushes himself away, stepping back until he hits the door behind him.

“I —”

“I apologise, Detective.” Adam has regained his usual demeanor, shoulders squared and eyes icy. He doesn’t meet his gaze. “You should get some rest.”

Luca turns and opens his bedroom door. Turning back for a moment, he says, “Adam?” The vampire looks up from staring at the floor. “Thank you, this was fun.” 

The smallest smile seems to light up his face, and then he’s walking away without another word. 

Luca watches him retreat, then steps inside his room, closing the door quickly behind him, heart hammering.  _ What was that? Was he  _ — _?  _ Leaning against the door he runs his fingers over his wine stained lips, praying that that wasn’t the only chance he would get.

  
  


**_Last week_ **

Luca tries to stifle a yawn as he turns another page of the book he’s reading. The words seem to blur on the page and he blinks rapidly until they come back into focus. 

“It’s late.” Adam’s voice is soft, and he shakes his head in response, not lifting his gaze from the book. “Detective, you’ve done enough research for tonight.” 

“I need to be prepared for this mission.” Even as he says the word, he feels the fog of his tired brain seeping over any information he might have taken in, obscuring it from his immediate memory. 

“Detective, we need to talk about the mission.” 

“I’ll be fine, Adam. It’s not for another couple days.” 

“You’re not coming.”

His head finally snaps up at the agent sitting in an armchair, a few feet away from him. “Excuse me?” 

“It’s not safe.” The words leave Adam’s mouth from gritted teeth.

Luca stands from his position on the sofa, holding the large tome to his chest. “I’m going on the mission.”

Adam joins him on his feet, jaw set as he looks down at the detective. Luca can tell he’s trying to look intimidating, but when had that ever worked on him? “Unit Bravo can take care of this.”

Luca recoils at the word choice, “Unit Bravo? So, am I a part of this team or not?” 

“Detective...” 

“No,  _ Agent _ . What is it? What am I doing so wrong that you can’t let me do my job.” 

He sets down the heavy book, careful to do it lightly despite the anger he feels bubbling up in him. “I know I haven’t been doing this for 900 years, but I am perfectly capable. Do you not trust me?”

He stands in front of Adam, a scowl on his lips as he stares up at Adam’s snarl. “It’s not a matter of trust.” 

“Then what?” The irritation is like bile in his throat, building up, words he’ll regret saying trying to make their way out of him. “I’ve gone on plenty of missions, what makes this one any different?” 

The vampire barely holds back a scoff, “You’re not coming with us.” 

“You are so…” Luca doesn’t know where he’s going with the sentence when he starts it. There are are neverending list of possibilities running through his mind, staring into Adam’s cold, hard gaze.  _ Stubborn, beautiful, infuriating, overwhelming.  _

He steps forward, too close probably, but there’s a pull to be close as he can when he says the next words. Before any words can leave his mouth, Adam cuts across him. 

“I — We can’t risk it.” 

“Risk what?” His voice is loud now, verging on shouting. 

Adam grips him by the shoulders. “You.”

They’re both breathing heavily, staring at each other, and he’s so sure, their angry glares so close to one another, that this is it. That the anger, the frustration, the fear is what will break the wall between them and  _ finally _ —

Adam steps back suddenly, his whole body rigid, green irises barely visible around the blown black pupils. “I won’t risk you. Not with this mission. Not with him.” 

He moves closer again, a hand stretching out, almost caressing his cheek with the back of his fingers, but never making contact. Luca stares at him, mind stuck between the ‘ _ him’ _ Adam mentioned and leaning into his hand. 

He barely blinks and then Adam stands at the door, gripping the frame so tightly that Luca’s surprised it doesn’t break. The words are so quiet that Luca is surprised he hears them over the hammering of his own heart beat. But he does. He hears the whisper. 

“No, not like this.” 

  
  


**_Yesterday_ **

Adam pauses outside of the detective’s apartment building. He shouldn’t be here, there’s no reason to be here. And yet. 

It concerns him. The lack of restraint, the indulgence of it all. He closes his eyes and wills himself back to the warehouse. He hasn’t seen the detective since that day in the Library and it plagues him. 

The mission had been a success, they had found him —  _ Murphy  _ — and his posse of supernaturals once and for all, and Luca was safe because of it. He didn’t regret not allowing him to join the mission, it was the right choice. 

Adam opens the door to the apartment building. Luca has to understand it was the right choice. He repeats the mantra to himself as he walks. He pauses when he hears Luca’s voice travelling, clear to his ears, down the hallway. “ _ ‘Not like this’  _ What does that even  _ mean _ ? What does want from me?” 

Farah’s voice follows. “Luca. You know he likes you.” 

Adam’s heart clenches in his chest at the words. The answer to the question is obvious - how could he  _ not _ know? Yet still, he holds his unneeded breath, stills every muscle in his body as he listens for the reply. What he’s hoping for he has no idea, but he waits. Waits as if everything hinges on the next words to reach him. 

“Do I?” The crack in Luca’s voice is as good as a crack in his heart. “The other day, I thought — We almost —” Luca stops and Adam walks on until he’s just outside the door. He shouldn’t be listening, he knows, but hearing this, what he has inflicted on the man he — Adam shakes his head at the half formed thought and back to the conversation on the other side. “At this point what am I even holding onto, Farah? This pointless exercise, the back and forth and it’s me who is standing there like an idiot every  _ fucking _ time, just waiting for him. So, what am I waiting for?” 

He should leave but the words have him stuck in place, asking himself the same questions, picturing Luca on the other side of the wall. The thought pulls at something inside him as he listens to the next words. 

“I just want to feel… something other than this.”

“I’m going to get serious for a minute here.” 

“You, serious?” 

“Luca.”

“Okay, okay.” 

Farah takes a deep breath before speaking. “Our Adam has been alive for longer than you or I can even imagine. And he’s been alone a lot of the time.” 

Adam closes his eyes and lets out a sigh. He has been alone a long time, he glances at Luca’s door,  _ longer than perhaps he had to be _ . He strides away, back down the hallway and into the fresh air of the night. He doesn’t need to hear any more. There’s nothing more that can be said.

He doesn’t know how long he’s there, standing, waiting for something, outside the building. Eventually, someone calls out to him. “Adam?” 

He doesn’t turn, doesn’t move. “Farah.” 

“Pretty late for you to be hanging around here.” She stands in front of him, a smirk on her face. 

He sighs. He debates not replying, just leaving and letting the young agent come to her own conclusions. Then he thinks back to what she said to Luca, how she’s looking out for him, Adam, and he can’t help but ask. “Farah, why am I here?”

“You tell me.” The young vampire raises an eyebrow at him, golden eyes narrowed. He opens his mouth as if to speak, isn’t even sure what he is going to say, and nothing comes out. He snaps his mouth closed again. “That’s what I thought.”

Adam’s shoulders slump and the next words are barely a murmur. “He’s right, I’m not worth waiting for, I’m not worth this.” She doesn’t look surprised that he’d overheard their conversation.

“You know that’s not what he said.”

“He should have.” 

“Adam.” He tries to stand up straighter, square his shoulders like the leader he is. “Look, I know you’re going through some shit. No one, least of all you, expected this. Just do me a favour? Figure it out before you talk to him.” Farah’s never looked so serious, there’s no joking, no laughter in her eyes. She rests a hand on his arm as she starts to walk away. “He’s hurting.” 

“I — I tried…” His sentence trails off, a more common occurrence nowadays than ever before. He’s not sure where he’s going with the sentence so just stops. 

Farah looks back at him, the smirk back on her face. “With the wine?” He must give some semblance of a nod because she sighs heavily. “Yeah, maybe you should talk to him first.” The smirk breaks into a grin. “Or don’t talk.” He can feel himself growing red. “Just let him know how you feel under no uncertain terms. Don’t faff around with something fancy, just be honest.” 

He stands there for another minute after Farah leaves before turning to look up at the window he knows is Luca’s. The light is still on. Her words are ringing in his ears.

_ Just go up there. Just say sorry. Just hold him. Be honest. Tell him how you feel. Show him. _

He hovers, hand inches from the front door, for a minute. Then he turns around and leaves. 

  
  


**_Ten minutes ago_ **

The door to the kitchen slams open and Luca whips around in surprise, batter spilling from the bowl in front of him. 

Adam stands in the doorway, looking back at the door now hanging off its hinges, mouth open in surprise before he pulls himself to his fullest height and turns to Luca, hands behind his back. 

“I’ll fix that.” 

“Is everything alright?” 

His jaw is clenched even tighter than usual, shoulders squared and his mouth is set in a frown. 

“Adam?” Luca takes a couple of steps forward, concern evident on his brow. 

“What is this?” He holds out a piece of paper in front of him. 

Luca walks closer, laughing a little as he recognises the title on the poster. “It’s my ‘banned’ poster?” He looks back up to Adam, confused by the hurt in his eyes, then back down at the paper. 

He has to cover his mouth to stifle the laugh. In the once empty spot is a picture of Adam. It’s clearly a copy of the one in the living room that Farah had displayed, and printed underneath in scrawled capitals is ‘Agent du Mortain’. With his free hand he reaches out for the poster. 

“Well, it’s not the best picture, I’ll admit. Recognisable at least.” He looks up at Adam, incapable of holding back his smile at the frown set on his face, so similar to that of the picture. “Luckily,” He picks at the sellotaped photo, “This vandalism is easily solved.” The picture comes off the page and Luca puts it on the counter behind him.

He tilts his head back up at Adam whose face is painted with relief. “You didn’t...” 

Luca shakes his head, “I didn’t.” 

“I thought…” Adam’s voice trails off. His green eyes look deeper than he’s ever seen them. No longer icy, but warm, welcoming,  _ wanting _ .

“Farah, I think.” Luca looks away from Adam and at the floor. “I think she was trying to help. Give me some space.” 

His eyes flick up again as he feels Adam move a fraction closer. Luca hesitates, his hand furling into a fist and staying resolutely at his side instead of reaching up to Adam. He waits. A quiet that he thought they were long past falls over them. 

“Do you want space?” 

He can’t help the short breathy laugh that escapes his lips. “Adam, space is the last thing I’ve ever wanted from you.” 

“Good.”

There’s a beat of silence where they stare at each other, their words filling the air between them. Neither of them moves, it feels as if neither of them breathes. It’s a moment hanging outside of time, one where a shift occurs, and when it’s over and they’re back in the exact same spot, everything has changed.

And finally,  _ finally _ , they are closing the gap. 

It’s hard to say who steps forward first, or maybe the world sets them back closer to one another, pushing them together, as it has since their very first encounter. One of Adam’s hands is on his hip, fingers pressing lightly into him. Luca’s hands are on his chest, Adam’s heart hammering under his soft touch. 

Adam’s other hand is on Luca’s jaw, tilting his head up towards him. 

The sound of their heartbeats is all that’s reminding Luca that this is real. “Tell me.” He whispers, needs to say it, can’t carry on without clarifying the hundreds of doubts and questions that have found home in his mind. “Tell me you don’t want this.”

“No.” 

Adam’s thumb finds Luca’s lips and strokes lightly across his bottom lip. His breath catches at the movement. Green eyes trace the movement of his thumb as he leans in closer.

“What  _ do _ you want, Adam?” 

Adam’s nose nudges his in response, and there’s the softest touch of their lips, barely grazing before he feels Adam starting to pull away from him. 

“Luca…” It’s the use of his name again that does it, murmuring against him. The word ‘detective’ had gained a softness, an affection from these lips. But his name, so rarely heard, and never like  _ that _ — it sets him alight. 

He leans in to the kiss, pressing his lips firmly against him and Adam lets out a soft sigh before meeting Luca with the same pressure. The kiss is gentle and careful, to start. 

His hands trail up Adam’s firm chest, eventually winding around his neck, fingers finding their way into his hair, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. Adam’s hand is still on his jaw, stroking gently, whilst his other arm winds around his waist, holding him against his body. 

The kiss is so many things at once; home and someplace new, unfamiliar, open to explore. Luca sighs into it, and he vaguely wonders how he could ever have thought that imagining this would be anywhere near the truth. Nothing had prepared him for how it would warm his entire body, like electricity through his veins. 

They break apart for a moment and Adam rests his forehead on Luca’s, breathing heavily. “This. You. In 900 years, I have wanted for nothing but you.” 

Luca has no words, can think of nothing but pull him in for another kiss. Adam follows, lips brushing his, before taking them and kissing across his jaw and eventually down his neck, pressing kisses into Luca’s skin that make him gasp. 

It’s not until Adam’s teeth graze against him, eliciting a small, breathless moan from him that their mouths meet again in a hungry kiss, desperate for more. He could do this forever, he thinks, as he pulls a gasp from Adam’s lips. 

And then Adam’s pulling away. Luca follows him for a moment, lips instinctively searching for his. His eyes flutter open when the vampire steps a few paces backwards, and he sees Adam looking at the door to the kitchen wide eyed. 

He turns to the door, still hanging off its hinges, to see Rebecca stride in, still talking on the phone. She doesn’t look at either of them, just waves absently that she’ll be 1 minute and continuing her conversation. 

Luca looks back to Adam, whose ears are an unmistakable red, seemingly frozen against the counter he’s found himself backed into. Luca moves quickly, back to where his batter sits, forgotten, and picks up the whisk again, staring intently at it. 

“Luca. Agent du Mortain.” Rebecca addresses them finally, nodding at them each in turn. Luca smiles tightly, sparing her a small glance before returning to the bowl. His heart is still hammering against his chest and there’s a laugh pushing at his lips. Something about the absurdity of it, the teenage thrill of it all; hiding a kiss from his own mother, has him desperate to laugh. His lips are twitching with it. 

“Can we meet? The rest of the team is gathering in the living room.” She nods to Luca, “I’m sorry to disturb your baking.” 

He shrugs and puts the batter in the fridge. He vaguely hears Adam and Rebecca speaking behind him, he takes the moment that neither of them are looking at him to let the grin trying to burst from him take over his face. 

When he turns back, Rebecca is gone and Adam’s waiting at the door for him, an eyebrow raised. “Are you coming, Detective?”

Luca walks towards him, reaching forward to tangle his fingers with Adam’s. He squeezes lightly, bringing his hand to his lips to press a kiss into the soft skin. He looks up at Adam and feels his heart clench at the smile, wider than he’s ever seen, and  _ dimples _ in his cheeks. Luca raises his free hand to his face, running his thumb over the small indentations and makes a promise to himself to kiss the dimples later. 

“Let’s go, Commanding Agent du Mortain.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe they finally kissed!! 
> 
> Thank you if you managed to read this far! There'll be one more chapter, just to wrap up this little story (which now I look at it, could probably have been a series of one-shots, but here we are). I'll keep writing them and add them into this series though. 
> 
> In this story, there's referenced a time where Adam makes croissants, that's the next story in this series if you haven't seen it on my tumblr already :) 
> 
> @thenshe--appeared on tumblr, yelling about how much i love these vampires. 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who has left kudos and comments, i appreciate the support so much <3


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